Barton handed suspended ban for ´ladyboy´ tweet

The 30-year-old, who is currently on loan from QPR, made the comments last month after the Paris Saint-Germain centre-back had defended his international team-mate Neymar – a regular target of Barton’s outbursts.

Marseille subsequently released a statement apologising for the controversial midfielder’s onslaught, while PSG threatened further action should the attacks continue.

And the French Football Federation have now moved to punish Barton, whose ban will be activated should he engage in further tirades.

“The National Ethics Committee has handed a two-match suspended ban to Joey Barton for ‘inappropriate comments’ after his tweets about a Paris Saint-Germain player,” a statement on Marseille’s official website read.

Barton has been involved in a long line of Twitter controversies, having regularly attacked former colleagues and employers to his two million followers on the the social networking website.

The Liverpool-born midfielder has publicly criticised the owners of his former club Newcastle, ex-Manchester City team-mate Dietmar Hamann and supporters of Wigan in recent history.